The Michigan Daily - Thursday, November 10, 1994 - 9 ,Men's swimming should ease past Badgers By MICHELLE LEE THOMPSON Daily Sports Writer The Michigan men's swimming team has noth- ing to fear when it dives in against Wisconsin Saturday. The Badgers are not ranked. The Wolverines are currently No. I in the coun- try. "We'll definitely be bearing over Wisconsin," coach Jon Urbanchek said. "Many of our athletes will not take this as seriously." Wisconsin will be reeling from its Friday meet against Michigan State when it faces Michigan at Canham Natatorium at 10 a.m. The Badgers are still a team without a focus under the direction of new coach Erik Hanson. "It's not that Wisconsin's a bad team, but ..." said Wolverine Chris Laskowski, noting that the team's practices have been just as hard this week as * they will be the week before the team facesNo. 2- ranked Stanford or No. 3-ranked Texas. "Some teams tend to rest a bit for dual meets, but we're just swimming right through it all." The conference meet is just a stepping stone on the Wolverines' path to an NCAA championship. The squad has a shot at its first national title since 1961. The Wolverines will almost definitely top the Big Ten, but Urbanchek said, "It's not as important as the first NCAA title - that's going to be the focal point (of the season)." A top-flight crop of freshmen highlight the Michigan roster. Derya Buyukuncu, who set two pool records last weekend at Southern Illinois Uni- versity, is set for victory Saturday again in the 100- and 200-yard backstroke events. Assistant coach Alex Braunfield said the fresh- man has an advantage because he utilizes a kind of flip turn which was not legal when many of the current seniors were freshmen. But Urbanchek said that the youngsters have not proven themselves yet, and are overwhelmed with having to live up to their reputation as the country's No. 1 recruiting class. "On paper it doesn't mean a lot. Once these kids get here they have to prove themselves," Urbanchek said. "We don't swim on paper. They haven't done it in the water yet, but they have the potential." But Buyukuncu, freshmen breaststroker Owen von Richter and butterflyer Jason Lancaster are not only among the top freshmen in the country. They are among the nation's top swimmers. Michigan, only one meet into its season, is looking past Saturday to the following Saturday, when it faces its biggest challenge - No. 3 Texas. Urbanchek said the Wisconsin meet will serve as a "tune-up" for the Longhorns. "Texas is our main focus right now," von Rich- ter said. FILE PHOTO The No. 1 Michigan men's swimming team takes on Wisconsin Saturday. , hl\\ hl\N Z"\N AV"\N LE" BA L NOE VOLLEYBALL NOTEBOOK Sisters battle in Ohio State's win over Blue 4 By DAVID ROTHBART Daily Sports Writer A sibling rivalry highlighted Saturday's Michigan women's vol- leyball match with Ohio State. Michi- gan freshman Sarah Jackson went face-to-face with her older sister, Jenny. "On the court, I don't think of her as my sister," Sarah said. "I just think of her as another player." Sarah led Michigan in hitting effi- ciency with a.333 average. Jenny, the Buckeyes' leading hitter, scored eight kills for a .286 average. Did the younger Jackson show up her older sister? Not according to Jenny. "We were the ones who won," the older Jackson said. NOT KEEN ON KEEN: Only 480 fans showed up for Saturday's 3-1 loss to Ohio State. About 30 to 50 Michigan student-athletes were on hand, ac- cording to administrative assistant Ragine Dvorak. Coaches and play- ers from Michigan's track, gymnas- tics and women's basketball teams came to cheer on their fellow Wolver- ines. Friday's contest with Penn State attracted 825 fans. The crowd was bustling with kids participating in the Scout Night promotion. Dvorak said the volleyball match competed for fans with the Wolverine hockey game at Yost Ice Arena. Michigan's home attendance aver- age dipped to 582. In its away matches, attendance has averaged 1,201. MENDOZA LINE:Linnea Mendoza, the Wolverines' starting setter, con- tinued her impressive freshman cam- paign last weekend. She had 40 as- sists againstPenn State and 26 against Ohio State. She has 536 assists for the season. Her season high of 47 came against North Carolina. Mendoza, a Santa Barbara native, has shared set- ting duties with sophomore Erin McGovern. CAN'T LUZE FOR TRYING: Sopho- more right side hitter Shareen Luze chipped in five kills and 13 digs against Penn State, and added three kills and seven digs against Ohio State. She had career highs of 19 kills and 15 digs earlier this season against North Carolina and Purdue. UNLUCKY 13: The Wolverines must win one of their matches this weekend to avoid extending their los- ing streak to 13. Michigan plays at Iowa tomorrow night and at Minne- sota Saturday. The Hawkeyes and Golden Gophers swept Michigan in their October meetings at Cliff Keen Arena. The teams have a combined 35-11 series record against the Wol- verines. TEXAS VACATION: The Michigan women's volleyball team will not be travelling to Austin for December's NCAA Tournament, but it has a chance to knock off a couple of teams on the tournament bubble. Minnesota and Wisconsin need victories against the Wolverines to improve their chances of receiving an invitation. Coach Greg Giovanazzi said he will not use this fact to motivate his team. "We want to win for us, not to stop anyone else," he said. Giovanazzi added that his goal is for Michigan to win at least two more matches this season. AP PHOTO By December, St. Louis Blues Mark Recchi and Brendan Shanahan could be getting a better workout than this on the ice. Hockey season could start within a mwont I r NEW YORK (AP) - Hopeful signs of ending the NHL lockout emerged yesterday, with one man- agement source telling the Associ- ated Press it's possible the season could resume next month. "If the talks continue this way, they could be playing hockey by the first of December," the source said, speaking on the condition he not be identified. "A lot will hinge on tomorrow's meeting." Others were not as optimistic, but no one dismissed the possibility. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and union head Bob Goodenow met for seven hours Monday, the source said. They are to meet today, possibly in Buffalo, N.Y. This marks the first time the sides talked twice in one week since Oct. 4-5. "There are still a lot of issues on the table," the source said. "Every- thing depends on how well the meet- ing goes Thursday. But the fact that they met Monday and are meeting again Thursday is a major break- through. They did make some head- way (on Monday)." In an ESPN radio interview yes- terday, Brian Burke, vice president in charge of hockey operations for the NHL, said, "I am optimistic that a deal can be worked out in time to save the season." It was a direct reversal of Burke's position last week when he said he felt the NHL was at risk of losing the season. Goodenow also said yesterday the union had not made any specific pro- posal to the league. "Since the league rejected our last proposal on Oct. 10, we have not made another proposal - not at all," Goodenow told The Canadian Press. NHL Players Association spokes- man Steve McAllister said the report "sounded pretty optimistic." And an agent, also speaking on the condition he not be identified, said, "I don't sense the same optimism." "I think we're looking at a 60- game schedule," the source said. I i ____j I A' London #4IS* Mexico Cino $296* San Jose $490* Bangkok $939* Johannesburg $1398* .w~emeWamdambam 1220 S. University Dr. (Above McDonalds) . a..&n. l n11 ~ fi t~ iniva